Apologies for not writing sooner, to the (probably 2 people) who read this blog. Last time I wrote I was in Montanita, surfing. Since then, I've been back to Quito, Las Tolas, Mindo, Cuyabeno, Latacunga, Banos, Cuenca, and am now hanging out in Vilcabamba. It sounds like a lot, but I'm really enjoying traveling at a leisurely pace. Tomorrow I'm going to head out to a farm near here and volunteer for a while. I'm looking forward to being in one place!
My favorite thing so far was probably the jungle tour Brian and I did in Cuyabeno. It was so much fun! I thought because it was a tour that you book in Quito that it would be lame, but I'm really glad Brian had the idea. To get to the place we stayed we had to take an overnight bus, which was fine for me but torture for Brian because he doesn't fit in the seats. Ecuadorians are generally very short (like, I am tall here), and poor Brian, 6'4", was way to tall to be able to relax in the Ecuadorian-sized buses. Then it was a 3 hour car ride, then a 2 hour boat ride down the river to the lodge we stayed at. So we were way out there, and it was amazing! The jungle was beautiful, and so different than anything I've ever seen at home. There was a big, slow-moving river, which apparently completely dries up in less than one week without rain. There were animals everywhere - we saw loads of monkeys, sloths, pink river dolphins, some snakes, tarantulas, caimans, tucans, and this one ugly bird called a stinkey turkey. That may have been my favorite. We would go pirahna fishing then swimming in the same lagoon, which freaked me out at first, but nobody got attacked and the water was perfect! Worth the risk, I think. Brian and I also made friends with the guys who worked there and some of the other tourists as well, so I was kind of sad to leave.
After that we traveled down to Latacunga, where Brian and I parted ways. Traveling on my own was hard at first, it was like I had forgotten how. But in the past week or so I think I picked it up again. I hung out in Banos for a bit, then took a looooooong bus ride down to Cuenca, where I tried to get my visa extended. That was a freaking nightmare. After 3 days of going to the immigration office, talking/emailing/calling people to find out what the deal was, the end result was, "Come back later with $200 and then we can help you". So later this month I have to go back to Cuenca and pay a ridiculous amount of money for an extension that used to be (was supposed to be!) free. That sucks. But, now I'm in Vilcabamba with some new friends, hanging out in one of the loveliest places I've seen in Ecuador, about to go to volunteer at a farm and I'm really excited. I think working at the farm will be fun and (I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's true) educational. I will let you know how that goes in a couple weeks!
Love and miss all you guys back home!
P.S. Is that good enough, Evanne? No more complaining!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Montenita
Hey guys! So a lot has happened since my last post. I met up with Brian from Trophy in Quito after finishing up with the bear project and we came right to the coast. We spent almost a week in Puerto Lopez, where we got to go snorkeling and see blue-footed boobies. It was pretty cool. I got a wicked sunburn on my legs, because in mountain villages they are waaaay more conservative, so I was super pale. Hopefully that won´t happen again. We went out one time while we were there, to the local discoteca. Brian wanted to go because he had had fun at the discoteca in Las Tolas, but it didn´t really work out too well. Basically I got hit on by skeezy guys the whole time. My spanish isn´t great but I learned the word for ¨lover¨in the short time I was there. This is my advice to you: if you want to get slightly less attentions as a gringo in South America, dye your hair brown before you come.
Yesterday we came to Montenita, about an hour away, and got to try surfing! It´s probably the coolest thing I´ve ever done. Surfing is so much more fun than just hanging out on the beach. Montenita is kind of a strange town because it´s all about tourism and there are more gringos than Ecuadorians, but surfing is so much fun that I totally don´t mind. I could easily envision just staying here until my money runs out. Which would not be very long, because I don´t have much money and surfing is expensive. But for now I am enjoying learning to surf and taking breaks to eat fruit and listen to Bob Marley (which really is what it is like here, all the time).
Yesterday we came to Montenita, about an hour away, and got to try surfing! It´s probably the coolest thing I´ve ever done. Surfing is so much more fun than just hanging out on the beach. Montenita is kind of a strange town because it´s all about tourism and there are more gringos than Ecuadorians, but surfing is so much fun that I totally don´t mind. I could easily envision just staying here until my money runs out. Which would not be very long, because I don´t have much money and surfing is expensive. But for now I am enjoying learning to surf and taking breaks to eat fruit and listen to Bob Marley (which really is what it is like here, all the time).
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Lodo, cansado, y mucho lluvia
Those are the spanish words I have used the most the past few weeks. Mud, tired and rain. They are essential on hikes. I have done some of the hardest hiking of my life this month. Once we started going off the roads and frequently used trails, the hiking got insane. We had to slog through cow pastures that were almost vertical, hack our way through the jungle, and practically swim across pools of mud that swallow you up to your knee. It's exhausting, but kind of cool learning how much you can do.
This weekend Athena and I went to Apuela to check out the market, and immediately after getting off the bus discovered that Carnaval was in full swing. Within a minute we had been hit with water balloons, and sprayed with foam and water guns. Here Carnaval means soaking people on the street. We were VERY popular targets, so we bought cans of foam so we could defend ourselves. It turned into a giant water fight, the two of us against what seemed like all the local guys (girls generally don't fight back). It was the best water fight I've ever had. Today is the last days of Carnaval, which is kind of good because now we can walk into town without getting wet.
Anyway, hi to everyone back home, I miss you! Write to me if you get a chance, I'd love to hear from you.
Clementine
This weekend Athena and I went to Apuela to check out the market, and immediately after getting off the bus discovered that Carnaval was in full swing. Within a minute we had been hit with water balloons, and sprayed with foam and water guns. Here Carnaval means soaking people on the street. We were VERY popular targets, so we bought cans of foam so we could defend ourselves. It turned into a giant water fight, the two of us against what seemed like all the local guys (girls generally don't fight back). It was the best water fight I've ever had. Today is the last days of Carnaval, which is kind of good because now we can walk into town without getting wet.
Anyway, hi to everyone back home, I miss you! Write to me if you get a chance, I'd love to hear from you.
Clementine
Saturday, February 7, 2009
In Otovalo
So I made it to Ecaudor! I got to Quito late Saturday night, and spent Sunday going to parks and being lazy. I actually slept for about half the day. Quito (what I saw of it) was ok, but I heard that a girl from my hostel got robbed just a block or two away, so I'm glad I wasn't there too long. On Monday I met with the people from the Andean Bear Conservation Project and headed up north to the cloud forests. The volunteer house I'm staying in is two hours by bus from Otovalo, which is the closest internet. But the cloud forest is so amazing it's worth being so far removed. Sometimes you are actually inside the clouds and can barely see the road, other times the cloud lifts and you get incredible views of the mountains and valleys. The only problem is that the air is so damp that your clothes get wet if you leave them out. I haven't had to do laundry yet, and I have no idea how I will get my clothes dry once they're clean.
There is one other volunteer here with me, her name is Athena and she's really great. She lives in Portugal, so she knows enough Portuguese to speak decent Spanish, so I rely on her a lot because my Spanish is awful. I practice speaking with our guides when we go on hikes. We go on a hike everyday, and they get progressively harder. We're always exhausted by the time we get back. The other day we had a little energy, so we decided to start weeding the path that leads up to the house. I wore shorts because I figured I wouldn't be leaving our house, but of course people kept dropping by ''to get a cup of water'' and I felt really indecent (and pale) with my legs showing. We're the first volunteers to come in a few months, so our neighbors are a little curious I guess.
On our hikes we take radio equipment to listen to the bears that have collars. So far we've only heard one bear, Frida, but it's pretty cool when you hear the beeping that means a bear is nearby. Hernando, the program's director, says he wants to trap and collar a bear sometime soon, so we'll get to help with that. That's really cool, because I didn't expect to see a bear while I was here. They're very shy and there's so much jungle that it's difficult to find them. The other night we watched a documentary the BBC did on the ''spectacled'' (or Andean) bear. The narration was really unintentionally funny - they kept making references to Paddington Bear because he came from ''deepest, darkest Peru'' - but the main idea was that very little is known about this bear. Which is cool for us because it means the volunteers are actually gathering some of the first solid data about the andean bear. Hernando probably knows more about them than anyone else because he's been studying them for about 15 years. It's really cool to be a part of this project.
I hope everyone's having a great time in Seattle, I miss you guys!
Clementine
There is one other volunteer here with me, her name is Athena and she's really great. She lives in Portugal, so she knows enough Portuguese to speak decent Spanish, so I rely on her a lot because my Spanish is awful. I practice speaking with our guides when we go on hikes. We go on a hike everyday, and they get progressively harder. We're always exhausted by the time we get back. The other day we had a little energy, so we decided to start weeding the path that leads up to the house. I wore shorts because I figured I wouldn't be leaving our house, but of course people kept dropping by ''to get a cup of water'' and I felt really indecent (and pale) with my legs showing. We're the first volunteers to come in a few months, so our neighbors are a little curious I guess.
On our hikes we take radio equipment to listen to the bears that have collars. So far we've only heard one bear, Frida, but it's pretty cool when you hear the beeping that means a bear is nearby. Hernando, the program's director, says he wants to trap and collar a bear sometime soon, so we'll get to help with that. That's really cool, because I didn't expect to see a bear while I was here. They're very shy and there's so much jungle that it's difficult to find them. The other night we watched a documentary the BBC did on the ''spectacled'' (or Andean) bear. The narration was really unintentionally funny - they kept making references to Paddington Bear because he came from ''deepest, darkest Peru'' - but the main idea was that very little is known about this bear. Which is cool for us because it means the volunteers are actually gathering some of the first solid data about the andean bear. Hernando probably knows more about them than anyone else because he's been studying them for about 15 years. It's really cool to be a part of this project.
I hope everyone's having a great time in Seattle, I miss you guys!
Clementine
Friday, January 30, 2009
Still in the States...
Hey guys! This is my first entry on my brand new blog. I hope this works out, especially since I already forgot my password. This is how I will keep in touch with you, since I don't want to bug you with constant emails. But please email me while I am away, I want to know how you all are and how things are going back home. Ok, that's all, I just wanted to try posting something before I leave. Hopefully I will get my first Ecuador post up in a few days. I love you all and I'll miss you!
Clementine
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